


the jewel of crappy parents, [in] california

by DestinysBounty (MVPYurio), whichlights



Series: evergreen [6]
Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Bad Puns, Christmas, Fae & Fairies, Flirting, M/M, Magic, Mistletoe, Vampires, thats kinda gay guys just sayin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2017-09-11
Packaged: 2018-12-26 10:37:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12057249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MVPYurio/pseuds/DestinysBounty, https://archiveofourown.org/users/whichlights/pseuds/whichlights
Summary: Lloyd doesn't understand Christmas, so Micah helps him get the kids presents. Of course, things don't quite go as planned...





	the jewel of crappy parents, [in] california

**Author's Note:**

> yes the title is supposed to be a reference to finding dory, since lia is eternally tormented by constant ads for tlnm and hearing "the jewel of _morro_ bay, california" was just too fucking much.

“I don’t understand Christmas.”

“Oh, come on. Lloyd. Lloyd.” Micah put his hands in the air. 

“No, I know what it is. But I don’t get the appeal. Even non-Christians celebrate it?”

“Free shit.”

“That’s what birthdays are for.”

“No, everyone gets something.”

“But why. Jesus died.”

“But he came back.”

“So did you, what makes Jesus special?”

Micah sighed. “He’s not a vampire.”

“Look, my point stands.”

“The Rockefeller Tree is pretty, though.”

“Why do you need a special holiday for a tree?”

“It’s- you’re purposefully being difficult now.”

Lloyd smirked. “Maybe.”

“You know, some people call Christmas lights ‘fairy lights’.”

Lloyd laughed. “Okay, so why did you drag me to Northern California for a holiday I don’t celebrate.”

“Both your kids do?”

“Fuck. I have to buy presents for them.”

“Don’t worry; that’s why I’ve dragged you to Northern California for a holiday you don’t celebrate.”

Lloyd smiled. “What would I do without you?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” Micah replied, grinning back. “So. Ready to find your kids some Christmas presents?”

“Definitely.”

Micah’s grin grew wider, and he grabbed Lloyd’s hand. “C’mon!”

_ Oh shit he’s holding my hand he’s holding my hand he’s holding my hand he’s— _

They found themselves standing in the middle of a street, gently illuminated by streetlamps and Christmas lights. A store somewhere was playing “Jingle Bell Rock” just loudly enough that Lloyd and Micah could hear it.

“Awww,” Micah pouted. “I thought I’d brought you north enough that there’d be snow.”

Lloyd looked at Micah mischievously. “Snow, eh?” He closed his eyes and shimmered green for just a second—and then snow began to fall.

“Cheating,” Micah whispered, his breath tickling against Lloyd’s ear.

Feeling daring—he always felt a bit daring when using his magic—he turned so he and Micah’s faces were mere inches apart. “But you like it.”

“I never said I didn’t,” Micah replied, and for a second Lloyd thought that Micah was about to kiss him, but then the moment melted away like the snowflakes soon would.

Lloyd took a step back. “So, Christmas shopping. Never done that before. I didn’t even know the holiday was called Christmas until recently. I have to buy them presents though.”

“I prefer the term… obtain.”

“Thievery?”

“Not necessarily. More of a I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a nonbinary person that could get Sam a samurai sword.”

“What the hell would Sam do with a samurai sword?”

“It’d look good on her wall.”

“We are not giving Sam a samurai sword.”

“Not even a small one?”

“No. Do you actually know a guy who knows a guy who knows a nonbinary person that could get you a sword?”

“I do; the guy’s name is Victor.”

“Okay, now I’m worried you have access to swords.”

“Well, that’s not fair; I prefer knives.”

“Again- worried, you have access to them.”

“That’s not fair, to me, as a person-”

Lloyd laughed. “Fair isn’t a word where I come from.”

Micah pouted. “You know what, you’re on your own.”

“Wait no please Micaaaah.”  Lloyd tugged on Micah’s sleeve. “I need you to help me parent properly.”

And there it was—yet another reminder to Micah that he had a weakness for cute green faeries with magic snow powers, asking him for help.

“Alright, alright,” Micah sighed. “But seriously, consider that sword thing. You could even call it… a  _ Sam-urai  _ sword.”

_ “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Micah,”  _ Lloyd groaned. “That was just awful.”

“I’m bi, greenie. Awful puns are my bread and butter.” Micah elbowed Lloyd in the side, very gently, and winked playfully.

And there it was—yet another reminder to Lloyd that he had a weakness for cute vampires with red hair, making terrible puns.

And for fuck’s sake, if Lloyd heard Micah call him “greenie” one more time, he might just die.

“C’mon, greenie. Let’s go find Eliza a gift.”

Well, crap.

Lloyd and Micah bickered about the gift all the way to the mall (“For fuck’s sake, I’m not getting my daughter a pony!” “Why not? I can make it happen!”) and they were a block away. A fucking  _ block away.  _ Why could they never just reach their destination.

Not that Lloyd was  _ really _ upset at the kid on the side of the road crying.

Lloyd kneeled down beside him, casting a glamour over them so humans wouldn’t notice. “Hey,” he whispered.

“Go away.” He shoved at Lloyd. The kid couldn’t have been more than ten, but he was tall for a kid his age. His ears were pointed under his curly black hair.

“Faerie?” Lloyd asked. “Or warlock?”

“What does that mean?” 

“Why are you crying out here?”

“My… my parents kicked me out.”

“Why? Non-strict adherence to the gender binary?”

He tilted his head. “I don’t know what that means.”

“How old are you?”

“Nine.”

“What’s your name?”

“... Jewel. It’s not the one my parents gave me, but I like Jewel better than Jaron.”

“I do too,” Lloyd agreed. “But you never told me why they kicked you out.”

“I’m… I’m a  _ freak _ .” Jewel drew his knees closer to his chest. “I do magic. Not the rabbits in hats and card tricks kind, but the kind where I set things on fire. They said I was a child of the Devil.”

Lloyd understood what was happening. Faerie blood could lie dormant in an otherwise human family’s bloodline for generations, then randomly pop up and grant the lucky or unlucky kid magic powers. It wouldn’t be the first time. It also wouldn’t be the first time someone had kicked their kid to the curb because of that.

Micah, who had been standing silently in the background, spluttered, “but it’s Christmas Eve.”

“They said they wouldn’t tolerate an abomination in their house on a holy day. I started doing magic a few months ago.”

“Well, since you have human blood, your magic abilities would have been dampened until then.”

“Am I something other than human? Am I really a Devil child?”

“No, no no. You’re part faerie.” Lloyd showed Jewel his own pointed ears. “ I’m a faerie too. Hey, want to go somewhere where you can practice magic?”

Jewel blinked. “What?”

“I can take you to the land of the faeries, where you can learn magic, be immortal, all kinds of cool stuff. If you take my offer, there’s no going back, but you can be yourself.”

Jewel’s eyes were wide. “R-really?”

“Really,” Lloyd promised.

Micah held up a hand. “Wait, before that… Jewel, do you know your address?”

“Um, no, but it’s on this street. Three houses down and to the left. The one with the nativity in the front.”

“Perfect, okay, Jewel, do you mind if I eat your parents?”

Jewel’s eyes grew  even wider . “You can  _ do  _ that?”

“He’s a vampire.”

“Does he sparkle?”

Micah looked completely and utterly offended as Lloyd said with a smile, “ oh, absolutely. ”

“In your dreams,” Micah muttered.

Lloyd couldn’t have been happier for that “omission doesn’t count as lying” technicality.

“But anyway, yeah, if you want, you can come back and live with me,” said Lloyd. “You’d have one sister and one genderfluid sibling and a whole bunch of other relatives.”

“So… you’d be my dad?”

“Usually the kids call me dad,” said Micah. “They usually call Lloyd papa. I’m Micah, by the way.”

“You’d be my dad too! Are you… married or something? I’ve heard that that’s a thing but my parents—”

“—We’re not married,” Lloyd and Micah said together, quickly.

“Yeah. Just friends. But the kids see me like their dad too.”

“Okay…” Jewel nodded, slowly. “So… you’re a faerie, he’s a vampire, you want to take me back with you, and he wants to eat my birth parents, and then you’ll both be my new parents and I’ll have two siblings and be immortal?”

“Yep.” Lloyd grinned at Jewel. “So, you in?”

“What if I say no?”

Lloyd sighed. “Well, then I wipe your memory of us ever meeting and Micah and I go on our way.”

“Oh. Well, I think I want to go with you. I’m afraid of being alone outside in the dark. Even on Christmas Eve.”

Micah gave Jewel a smile. “Honestly, you really should. Lloyd is awesome and Eliza and Sam—they’d be your siblings—are great also. And don’t even get me started on your aunt Nya.”

“Oh, I see how it is,” Lloyd whined. “I know that all of the faeries agree that my sister is objectively the best of the three of us, but you too?”

“Objectively, yes,” said Micah, and then he gave Lloyd a soft smile. “Subjectively… that’s another story.”

“Okay,” said Jewel. “I want to come with you.”

“Lloyd’ll get you there, safe and sound, and I’m going to have Christmas dinner. Well, Christmas Eve dinner.” Micah grinned. “See ya on the flip side, kid.”

~~~~

Micah came back two minutes later with blisters all over his hands, and what looked like a sunburn. Lloyd paused his song, and hissed, “What happened? I’m trying to magically spell a kid into Faerie, here!”

“Their damn house is Micah proofed!” Micah hissed back. “Christians! They’re so… CROSSY!”

“You’re Christian.”

“Catholic. Well, raised Catholic, now I’m more nondenominational, but I still call myself Catholic-”

“Micah?”

“Okay, shutting up. There are too many crosses on the house. I can’t get in. At first there was just the one on the door, but then they were  _ everywhere  _ inside, and…” Micah shrugged. “I’m sorry.”

“No, no, it’s not your fault.” Lloyd thought about it. “I’m taking Jewel to Faerie Land, and I’ll send you someone that can get you in.”

“Who?”

“Whoever will say yes?”

“That’s promising,” Micah muttered as Lloyd and Jewel disappeared. “That- that was  _ sarcasm _ !” He yelled to the air.

Micah waited on the curb for five minutes, in which time his burns healed over. Not that he was eager to get more. At the end of those five minutes, a familiar face with long pink hair ran up to him, grinning.

“Eliza?” Micah gaped only a little bit.

She grinned, and bounced on her toes, arms held out. “ Papa sent me. Something about needing a house de-crossed.  Job’s all done. ”

Micah grinned. “What did you do with the crosses?”

“Oh, well, they’ve been donated to this lovely affirming church that’s just started up.”

“All of them? There were at least ten crosses in that house.”

“Twenty two.” 

“You gave all of them to one church?”

“Well, no. I gave two of them to the church. The others I sold online, and donated the money to the church.”

“In five minutes?”

“It’s been a while in the faerie world, actually.” Eliza gave him a hug. “It’s so good to see you.”

“Good to see you too, kid.”

“Well, the house is totally de-crossed, so how about you eat those parents and then we go find Christmas presents for Papa and Jewel?”

Micah grinned. “Sounds like a plan.”

~~~~

Meanwhile, Lloyd was cuddling Jewel in his arms as he hummed a lullaby. They were back in Lloyd’s house, and the trip had been made safely, but just after arriving, Jewel had woken up. It made sense and all; Lloyd had had to use far less magic this time since Jewel was part faerie, which meant that the spells had worn off more quickly—not to mention the fact that Eliza and Sam were rather loud in their excitement over having a new sibling. Admittedly, part of the reason Lloyd had sent Eliza to go help with the cross situation, was that she and Sam did each other no good in the calming-down department.

And now here they were, sitting on the couch, Sam having reluctantly gone to bed. Lloyd hadn’t decided yet where he was going to have Jewel sleep—there really wasn’t space for another bed in Sam and Eliza’s room, and there wasn’t another bedroom in the house.

_ Guess we’ll have to find a new place soon… _

“Papa?”

Lloyd looked down to see that Jewel was awake, but only barely.

“Yeah, kiddo?”

“D’you love Micah?”

Shit. Direct questions. He couldn’t evade those.

He looked down again. Jewel was asleep.

Thank God.

“Yes,” he whispered. “Yes, I do.”

Just then, the door opened, revealing Micah and Eliza with shit-eating grins.

“Whatever you’re about to say, say it quietly,” said Lloyd. “Jewel only just fell asleep.”

“Santa came,” Eliza giggled, holding up a bag. “You’ll get to see what he brought tomorrow.”

“Sounds great. Now go to bed, young lady.”

“Where’s Jewel gonna sleep?” Eliza asked, lightly drumming her fingers on the coffee table. Nobody noticed the soft pink glow on the ceiling.

“Probably in my room. I’ll sleep out here. Apparently, the couch is very comfortable.” He raised an eyebrow at Micah. “Nya’s still annoyed that you got it during your ‘slumber party’ that nobody invited you to.”

“Okay, so first of all, Eliza invited me. Second of all, it’s not my fault that Nya’s never heard of rock-paper-scissors. And third of all, yeah, the couch really is comfortable.”

“I did invite him,” said Eliza. “But okay, I’m going to bed now. Night!” Grinning, she skipped out of the room.

“What’s her deal?” Lloyd asked, shaking his head softly as his daughter disappeared. Micah suddenly looked very, very… something… staring up at the ceiling. “What?”

He looked up, where Micah was looking, and… oh.

Eliza had put mistletoe on the ceiling.

“Dammit, Eliza.” Lloyd messed with his hair, not looking at Micah. “Yah, sorry, I taught her a spell to make plants grow a little bit ago, and, well…”

“It’s fine.”

No, no it was not fine. Lloyd was trying very hard to not blush. That would just be a disaster. They’d kissed once already, and Lloyd was very firmly  _ not  _ thinking about… that.

Except he was and if Micah ever asked him about it he wouldn’t get away with evading. Micah was too smart for that, and Lloyd would have to answer, and he couldn’t lie.

“This is kind of awkward,” Lloyd laughed, only slightly, trying to find a way to defuse the situation. He couldn’t claim ignorance of what being stuck under the mistletoe with someone was supposed to mean, and he doubted Micah wouldn’t know. “It’s…”

“Lloyd.” Dammit, why did Micah have  _ that  _ tone of voice. The exact same tone he used to say Lloyd’s name before Lloyd ended up kissing him against a wall. “It’s fine.”

“Sorry, I’ll talk to her about it, just…”

Micah was taller than Lloyd by about an inch. It wasn’t much, really, but with Lloyd sitting on the couch and staring up at him, it felt like a lot. Micah leaned down,  rested a freezing-cold hand  on Lloyd’s cheek, and kissed his forehead. Lloyd closed his eyes and just breathed out. 

Lloyd didn’t open his eyes until he felt Micah’s hand slip off of his hand off of his cheek, and maybe it was wishful thinking but maybe Micah had lingered.  But when he opened his eyes, Micah was gone, leaving him alone with a sprig of mistletoe over his head.

**Author's Note:**

> tumblrs!
> 
> witchlightsands (rose)
> 
> she-doesnt-even-ninjagohere, mod lia on justgreenstormthings, and mod allura on queenshipping official (lia)


End file.
